Feline parotid acinar cells are prepared by modification of the technique of Amsterdam and Jamieson (J. Cell Biol., 63:1037, 1974). Parotid glands of kittens (500-1000 gms) are removed and the fascia stripped off. The glands are minced, incubated (37 degrees centigrade) in Ca-Mg free Hanks' with 100 U/ml of crude collagenase and 0.5 mg/ml of trypsin for 15 minutes with rotation. The subsequent pellet is resuspended in Ca-Mg free Hanks' with 2 mM EDTA for 10 minutes and with Ca and Mg for 10 more minutes. The second enzymatic digestion is done with 50 U/ml of pure collagenase, 100 U/ml of crude collagenase and 0.5 mg/ml of trypsin for 40 minutes. The suspension is mixed, filtered through nylon stocking, washed in Hanks' MEM plus 20% fetal calf serum with penicillin and streptomycin, and placed on a plate for 2 hours to remove fibroblasts. The non-attached cells are then plated on a hydrated collagen lattice. Evidence for cell viability is provided by growth of the cells in culture, exclusion of erythrocin B, and amylase secretion upon stimulation. The parotid cells were found to be infectable by feline herpesvirus in vitro, following observations that they could be infected in vivo.